Dolores O'Riordan, whose urgent, powerful voice helped make Irish rock band The Cranberries a global success in the 1990s, died suddenly on Monday at a London hotel.

No cause of death has been released.

To my surprise, the fierce rock queen I expected to meet when I nervously entered her dressing room was literally shaking with nerves herself.

"Dolores O'Riordan and The Cranberries had an enormous influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally", his statement read. Their guitar-based sound had an alternative-rock edge at a time when grunge was storming the music scene.

A statement from her publicist read: "The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries was in London for a short recording session". The group, from Limerick, has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

The band, formed in 1989, went on a break in 2003 but reformed in 2009, releasing their final album, Something Else, last year.

A native of Ballybricken, she was the youngest of seven children of Terence and Eileen O'Riordan and was educated at Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ in Limerick city. "She was an exceptional talent", he said.

O'Riordan's publicist has declined to comment on the matter.

In 2014, O'Riordan was accused of assaulting three police officers and a flight attendant during a flight from NY to Ireland.

Irish singer and songwriter Hozier said the first time he heard O'Riordan's voice was "unforgettable" and he was "shocked and saddened" to hear the news. I remember her being in the recording studio and she was obsessed with instruments and music.

In 2016, she avoided a criminal conviction and was fined €6,000 euro (£4,690) for head-butting and spitting on a police officer following an alleged air rage incident at Shannon Airport.

"You get ups as well as downs".

Dolores said: "This guy asked me to dance and I thought he was lovely".

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